Biomechanics of voice production

声音障碍是一生中最常见的沟通障碍。据估计，3-9%的儿童和成人在任何时候都有声音问题。超过50%的人在他们的职业中使用他们的声音，如演员和歌手，在他们的职业生涯的某个时候经历过声音障碍。拟建的多学科研究项目的长期目标包括将机械工程的知识和方法（如设计、有限元建模和力学测试）应用于喉科的基础研究，以改进治疗方法和植入物。本研究的具体目的是：1)利用新颖的实验方法在宏观和微观尺度上准确量化声带组织的力学粘弹性行为；2)基于表征材料微观结构及其生物化学组成和组织的参数，建立机械载荷下声带组织力学响应的数学模型；3)设计并构建高保真声带生物反应器，准确复制与声音产生相关的应力和应变，具有相似的运动学和动力学特征；4)创建健康和患病声带振动的有限元模型，这些模型是针对个体受试者的，基于喉部的三维图像，以及从高速视频内窥镜、电声门成像和反过滤声门气流率获得的数据。机械应力的准确量化是与声带损伤和恢复中涉及的关键生物因素的数量最终相关的必要条件。这可能有助于伤口修复新技术的发展，并为未来的治疗提供有价值的建模工具。例如，这些模型可能有一天会帮助确定声部创伤后的最佳发声状态。这是朝着针对患者的治疗和护理的长期目标迈出的一小步。

Voice disorders are the most common communication disorders across the lifespan. An estimated 3-9% of children and adults have a voice problem at any given point in time. More than 50% of individuals who use their voice in their profession, such as actors and singers, experience a voice disorder at some point during their career. The long term goals of the proposed multidisciplinary research program involve the application of knowledge and methods from mechanical engineering, such as design, finite element modeling and mechanical testing, to basic research in laryngology with the purpose of improving therapeutic methods and implants. The specific aims of the proposed research are: 1) to use novel experimental methods to accurately quantify the mechanical viscoelastic behaviour of vocal fold tissue at the macroscopic and microscopic scales; 2) to create mathematical models of the mechanical response of vocal fold tissue under mechanical loads, based on parameters characterizing the microstructure of the material and its biological and chemical composition and organization; 3) to design and build a high-fidelity vocal fold bioreactor that accurately replicates stresses and strains associated with voice production, with similar kinematic and dynamic features; and 4) to create finite element models of the vibrations of healthy and diseased vocal folds that are specific to individual subjects and based on three-dimensional images of the larynx long with data obtained from high-speed video-endoscopy, electro-glottography and inverse-filtered glottal airflow rate. The accurate quantification of mechanical stresses is needed for eventual correlations with the quantity of key biological factors involved in vocal fold injury and recovery. This may help the development of new technologies for wound repair and supply valuable modeling tools that could be useful in future therapeutic treatments. Such models may one day, for example, help determine the optimal voice regime following phonotrauma. This constitutes a small step towards the long-term goal of patient-specific treatment and care.